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RETINA READ RISK– November 2024. GENESIS BioMed’s Vision: Advancing Retina Read Risk for Better Eye Health

ideadmin el noviembre 26, 2024

About Retina Read Risk

Retina Read Risk was officially launched in 2022. The goal of this 3-year project is to develop hardware and software for a new vision-screening process for diabetic retinopathy that, compared to previously developed methods, is both safer for patients and less time-consuming for medical staff. Retina Read Risk is a multidisciplinary endeavor centered on patient and caregiver perspectives. The project consortium includes various innovation partners: research laboratories, hospitals, a patient association, one of the world’s largest telecom groups, a hospital telecom service provider, a consulting firm specialized in launching health start-ups, and a non-profit foundation that funds applied medical research. They share a common objective: to improve and personalize vision-screening of diabetic patients through E-health systems.

Featured interview: Josep-Lluís Falcó

This issue features an interview with Josep-Lluís Falcó, CEO of GENESIS Biomed, who shares insights into the consultancy’s role in advancing the RetinaReadRisk project, from its inception to providing strategic business support. GENESIS Biomed’s expertise and investment have accelerated RetinaReadRisk’s journey to commercialization, positioning it to offer a digital diagnostic platform for ophthalmology professionals. Falcó also envisions to expand its impact within ophthalmology for broader patient benefit.

Please tell us a bit about yourself and GENESIS Biomed.

GENESIS Biomed is a leading consultancy in the biomedical sector, specializing in start-up creation, tech transfer, and commercialization. We help innovative healthcare projects move from concept to market reality.

What role has GENESIS Biomed played in the project RetinaReadRisk and why is it important to have consulting firms like yours involved in large European projects?

GENESIS Biomed has led the start-up creation and provided strategic support in business and tech transfer, enabling effective commercialization. Our expertise ensures that European innovations translate into viable solutions. On top of that, our investment vehicle, GENESIS Tech Transfer Boost, has invested 100.000 € in the start-up, leading the seed round after its foundation.

Is the technology developed in RetinaReadRisk already patented or slated to be?

Yes, the technology behind RetinaReadRisk is properly protected, keeping the innovation safe and ensuring market exclusivity.

Why did you decide to launch a start-up based on RetinaReadRisk and how do you expect that it will help patients?

The start-up enables a faster implementation of the technology, improving preventive care in visual health and directly benefiting patients through early diagnostics, specifically for Diabetic Retinopathy.

Specifically, what will the start-up offer to its customers – An app? A service? – and who will those customers be?

The start-up will offer a digital diagnostic and monitoring platform aimed at ophthalmology clinics and healthcare professionals, assisting in the early detection of eye diseases and starting from Diabetic Retinopathy.

Do you think that the findings from RetinaReadRisk could eventually be exploited to address the needs of other patient populations in Ophthalmology?

Absolutely, the findings can be adapted for other risk groups in ophthalmology, allowing technology’s positive impact to reach more patients.

Update on the clinical trial

The first clinical trial of Retina Read Risk, launched in Spain in October 2022, has now conducted nearly 4,200 screenings. This trial is generating crucial data to demonstrate the efficacy and reliability of the AI component of Retina Read Risk, which has already detected diabetic retinopathy at various stages (mild, moderate, or severe- proliferative) in 388 patients. Thanks to the contributions of patients and clinicians, Retina Read Risk is progressing toward routine clinical use. Ongoing efforts include integrating the telemedicine platform within hospital systems and developing an e-learning course for clinicians to support the effective deployment of the technology.

The Retina Read Risk newsletter

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This project (reference 230123) is supported by EIT Health, a knowledge and innovation community of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

The Consortium of Retina Read Risk project

RetinaReadRisk

RetinaReadRisk is the spin-off created within the framework of the European project Retina Read Risk, and founded by Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV), GENESIS Biomed, UP2Smart and Grupo TRC in February 2023, it aims to bring a solution to facilitate screening of diabetic retinopathy. The creation of the company emerged from a project supported by EIT Health, an aspect that also gives it an international projection. The new spin-off RetinaReadRisk benefits from more than 10 years of work from researchers and hopes to attract private and public funding in the next 2-3 years to be able to finalize the development of the product and commercialize the solution developed during Retina Read Risk project.

For more information visit: https://retinareadrisk.eu/

Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV)

The IISPV is a biomedical research institute placed in the province of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain) that combines clinical and basic research in order to accelerate the translation of knowledge to the benefit of patients. Founded in 2005, the institute integrates the Hospital Universitari de Tarragona Joan XIII, the Hospital de Tortosa Verge de la Cinta, the Hospital Universitari Sant Joan de Reus, the Hospital Universitari Institut Pere Mata and the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, in order to bring together and manage biomedical research and innovation in the territory. The IISPV aims to be a national and international reference centre in biomedical research and translation, at the service of the population, linking the health centres to the community.

For more information visit: https://www.iispv.cat/en/

Institut Català de la Salut (ICS)

The Catalan Institute of Health (ICS) is the largest public health services company of Catalonia with a staff of over 53,031 professionals, that provides health care to nearly six million people across the country. As a reference entity of the public health system, the aim of ICS is to improve people’s health and quality of live, through the provision of innovative and excellent health services, regarding both the promotion of health and the treatment of diseases, from the most prevalent to the most complex ones. ICS structure includes 953 primary care centres and local consultancy, 8 Hospitals and 7 research institutes, including IISPV as a one of them. Our organization mission states to be a model that, through its structure and participants, responds to projects of strategic relevance to the ICS, guaranteeing the capacity and sufficient knowledge to execute them in short terms and obtaining fast returns in the form of results and value for the organization. ICS’ vision would become a reference and reliable model for all management structures, corporate and territorial, and ICS professionals to promote innovative projects, advise on their approach and relate, if necessary, external agents that collaborate in its deployment and / or provide resources. Since mid-2021 till mid-November 2023, Mr Francesc Iglesias, responsible of the Research and Innovation support office of ICS, has been the chairman of the Governing Board of EIT Health Spain, being actually the vicechair of the EIT Health Spain foundation and Chair of INNOLIFE.

For more information visit: http://ics.gencat.cat/es/inici/index.htm

Telefónica

Telefónica is one of the world leaders integrated operator in the telecommunication sector, providing communication, digital services, information and entertainment solutions, with operations in 12 countries in Europe and Latin American and with a global present in 38 countries. As of the end of 2022, Telefónica’s total number of customers amounted more than 383 million and 103,000 professionals. Telefónica spends more 3.700 million euros each year on technological innovation, including more than 714 million euros on R&D of new products, services and management systems and improvement of existing ones. In the health sector, Telefonica is working in several areas like Telemedicine, geo-localised transport of living tissue between hospitals, assisted surgery operations with 5G and VR, AI applied to disease detection, etc.

For more information visit: https://www.telefonica.com/en/

Grupo TRC

Grupo TRC has over 30 years of experience working hand in hand with groups of hospitals, developing applications to optimize and integrate all activities and processes of a health center in a unified platform.

The experience in the integration of advanced telecommunications systems, in the deployment of voice operator and connectivity services and in the development of customized software, both public and private sectors, national and international, are the guarantee of the commitment to the quality of our deployments, solutions and services.

For more information visit: https://www.grupotrc.com/

GENESIS Biomed

GENESIS Biomed is a consultancy firm in the biomedical healthcare sector specialized in providing consulting services in the genesis and first phases of lifecycle of biomedical spin-off and start-up companies, entrepreneurs, and research centers.

Based in its expertise GENESIS Biomed helps entrepreneurs and researchers to shape their business plan and supports them in the private fundraising process. GENESIS Biomed has raised >68,5 M€ in the last years in 20 rounds.

GENESIS Biomed expertise domains are biopharmaceutical, biotechnological, medical devices, in vitro diagnostic, nutraceutical and cosmetic. With more than 20 years of expertise in the healthcare sector, GENESIS Biomed is born in May 2017, and it is located in the Barcelona Science Park, and also with company sites in Madrid center and at La Marina in Valencia.

For more information visit: https://genesis-biomed.com/

E-Seniors

E-Seniors is a French non-profit association, founded in 2004 by Monique EPSTEIN. E-Seniors aims at fighting against e-exclusion by providing access to and training in ICT to seniors and/or disabled people. Its main objectives are bridging and shrinking the digital gap between generations, caring for elders by fighting against senior isolation, and opening new horizons for efficient use of free time. Besides teaching “basic computer skills”, E-Seniors has opened more thematically oriented workshops for “advanced” students, dealing with, for example, digital images and sounds, interactive messaging and chat, “writing memories”, and meetings dealing with the fight against e-exclusion. Through its work for elderly people and with them, the association tries as well to enhance awareness of the importance of ICT solutions in everyday life.

For more information visit: https://www.e-seniors.asso.fr/en_main.htm

Fondation de l’Avenir

The Fondation de l’Avenir aims to support and promote applied medical research for the benefit of patients. Created in 1987 by the Mutualité, it has been recognized as a public utility since 1988. Today, the Foundation is the link between the mutualist movement and public health actors. The Fondation de l’Avenir can count on more than 43,000 donors and 40 partners from the social and solidarity economy, all of whom are mobilized to advance medical progress. The Foundation has financed more than 1,300 projects since its creation, including many world firsts. It is managed by an Executive Board, chaired by Marion LELOUVIER, under the control of a Supervisory Board, chaired by Matthias SAVIGNAC.

For more information visit: https://www.fondationdelavenir.org/

EIT Health

EIT Health is a network of best-in-class health innovators with approximately 130 partners and is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. We collaborate across borders to deliver new solutions that can enable European citizens to live longer, healthier lives.

As Europeans tackle the challenge of increasing chronic diseases and multi-morbidity, and seek to realise the opportunities that technology offers to move beyond conventional approaches to treatment, prevention and healthy lifestyles, we need thought leaders, innovators and efficient ways to bring innovative healthcare solutions to market. EIT Health addresses these needs. We connect all relevant healthcare players across European borders – making sure to include all sides of the “knowledge triangle”, so that innovation can happen at the intersection of research, education and business for the benefit of citizens.

EIT Health: Together for healthy lives in Europe.

For more information visit: www.eithealth.eu.

Disclaimer The Retina Read Risk project is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the EIT. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them

RETINA READ RISK – October 2024. A look at diabetes beyond the disease

ideadmin el octubre 10, 2024

About Retina Read Risk

Through the testimony of Òscar Luri, who has suffered from diabetes for 40 years, we explain how the innovative technology developed thanks to the collaboration of researchers from the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV), the Sant Joan University Hospital in Reus and the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) has significantly improved the prevention and treatment of the disease and its complications, such as diabetic retinopathy.

Óscar Luri has been a patient of Dr Pere Romero, head of the ophthalmology research group at the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV) and head of this service at the Sant Joan University Hospital in Reus, for 20 years. He is 54 years old and suffers from type I diabetes. He was diagnosed at the age of 13. His father, who worked in the health sector, was immediately aware of the health implications of this disease and the need to act in time: he took him to some camps for girls and boys with diabetes, aimed at teaching them small healthy habits and how to take care of themselves.

Careful monitoring of this type of patient is essential, as the complications of the disease can significantly reduce quality of life. Diabetic retinopathy is one such complication. It is a common eye condition that causes loss of vision and can lead to blindness if not treated early. Óscar is monitored in Dr Romero’s office at the hospital:

«I feel that they take care of me like my family would: they are always very attentive to how I am doing».

Óscar Luri, at the center of the image.

Óscar taking the fundus examination test with the «portable retinograph» which is currently being used in a pilot phase at the Sant Joan de Reus University Hospital, among other centers, and which works in agreement with the 2 registered software.

It is precisely this commitment to patients and their care that has led Dr Romero’s team to work to advance science in order to offer the most innovative, personalised and effective treatments to the people he cares for. In collaboration with the URV’s Department of Computer Engineering and Mathematics, they have developed 2 software programs (called Mira and RETIPROGRAM) based on artificial intelligence. The first is a reading algorithm that reads the patient’s data extracted from the photo of the ocular fundus taken with a retinography or non-mydriatic camera (this is the test used to detect diabetic retinopathy) and determines, for each patient, the risk of suffering from it and, if they have it, the degree of development (mild, moderate or severe). The RETIPROGRAM, on the other hand, is a predictive algorithm: it uses indicators such as the patient’s age, weight, height, blood pressure, haemoglobin level and renal status to assess how often the test should be performed in order to be well controlled.

«This latest software will therefore help us to rationalise this type of test: we will do it in a personalised way, when it is determined that it is necessary to do it, and not when the healthcare system sets it as a standard.»

This technology is based on a portable device: «a retinograph, but… portable», explain the health professionals in Dr Romero’s team.

The test to detect diabetic retinopathy by examining the fundus of the eye is performed once a year (usually, but it depends on the patient) in certain primary care centres and hospitals, mostly in cities. Thanks to this new technology and the portable system, people with diabetes who live in rural areas or who have difficulty moving will not have to travel they will be able to be examined by their family doctor at their primary care centre.

Image of the fixed retinograph, which is what is currently used (in certain CAPs and hospitals). This type of device makes it possible to detect eye conditions that cannot be seen with the naked eye, such as microneurisms or small haemorrhages.

Capture of the Mira program evaluating the image of the fundus of a patient’s eye, taken using a retinograph. In this case, the program has detected diabetic retinopathy, and found it to be severe.

This software and the «portable retinograph» are being used in a pilot phase at the Ophthalmology Service of the Sant Joan de Reus University Hospital and with patients from 5 of the 11 primary health care areas that we have in our territory (Cambrils, Reus, Riudoms, La Selva del Camp and Ulldemolins). It is estimated that around 14% of this population (around 30,000 people) suffer from diabetes: «In our area we only have 3 non-mydriatic retinal chambers, one of which is in our hospital. With these, we can photograph a maximum of 10,000 patients per year, no more. So there are 20,000 people we cannot reach. So we have to prioritise: RETIPROGRAM allows us to do this by stratifying these patients: we start with those who are most at risk, and for those who do not need to be photographed every year, we extend their visits,» explains Dr Romero.

More than 10 years of work by researchers from the IISPV and the URV in the field of diabetic retinopathy and artificial intelligence, respectively, have resulted in the creation of the spin-off company RetinaReadRisk, in which these partners are involved: the IISPV, UP2Smart (URV), Grupo TRC and GENESIS Biomed. The company was created within the framework of the RetinaReadRisk project, which has received co-funding from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Health and the European Union under Grant Agreement 230123.

The spin-off RetinaReadRisk will be responsible for marketing the software, which will help to integrate the technology into the Catalan public health system in the future.